About us
| Location |
Highland Heights, United States |
Funding Type |
Public |
| No of Students |
14566 |
Establishment |
University |
| Founded In |
1968 |
Estimated Cost of Living |
14000 USD |
| Address |
Louie B Nunn Dr, Highland Heights, KY 41099, United States |
NKU is a growing metropolitan university of more than 14,000 students served by more than 2,000 faculty and staff on a thriving suburban campus near Cincinnati.
Located in the quiet suburb of Highland Heights, Kentucky—just seven miles southeast of Cincinnati—we have become a leader in Greater Cincinnati and Kentucky by providing a private school education for a fraction of the cost. While we are one of the fastest-growing universities in Kentucky, our professors still know our students' names.
Why?
- Nearly 16,000 students with annual growth of approx. 2% (12,100 in 2000-01)
- Nearly 2,800 degrees and certificates produced last year (1,685 in 2000-01)
- 70 bachelors programs,49 masters and masters level certificate programs,2 professional doctorates (0 in 2000-01);1 Juris Doctorate
- 80 percent of NKU students work 20 hours or more a week; many work 30 or more hours a week. These non-traditional students work hard to contribute to their education.
- Northern Kentucky University is a primary driver of Northern Kentucky’s economy as we grow out of this recession. The university’s graduates and applied research are critical to providing a new consumer health and information technology cluster in our region. An investment in NKU students is an investment with a rapid return for the state.
- NKU is already the leanest institution in Kentucky. It has the least amount of academic programs among Kentucky universities. And, it has the least amount of state funding and space per student.
- At a time when demands on the university are greatest, both for degree production and applied research, the university has sustained $8.2 million in recurring state funding cuts in five years. This takes the amount of state funding back to FY2006 levels. Tuition increases have done little more than back fill state funding cuts.
- NKU receives $1,580 per student (or the equivalent of $19.3 million) less than the average state funds of the other comprehensive universities, when it serves one of the three major economic centers that citizens of Kentucky depend on. The great demand for growth in graduates, as well as applied informatics and consumer health research to jump start a challenged regional economy requires a strategy to correct this historic challenge as soon as possible.
- The NKU underfunding problem has been exacerbated by the state not being able to provide $4.4 million in maintenance and operations funding for the newer state buildings on campus. For 100+ years, universities have been getting funds to help operate campus facilities. This cost has been redirected from the state to students. Also, the state mandates that NKU staff stay in the Kentucky Retirement System, yet the state does not cover the employer contribution. The current year employer contribution went up an additional $1 million. This is in addition to the last two year increase of $2.7 million.
- Kentucky needs a revenue/expenditure strategy that will allow for a reinvestment in NKU students. Budget cuts have weakened the region’s capacity to rebound from the recession. Reductions in NKU’s funding will be felt in Northern Kentucky’s capacity to further enhance key programs and services for key regional economic initiatives like UpTech, our region’s plan for 50 new startup informatics companies, as well as in the financial burden that continued budget cuts place on our students. NKU students already pay 72% of their education – the highest among Kentucky universities.
- About 16,000 NKU students, and Kentucky's economic future, depend on NKU having the necessary funding and facilities to prepare students for careers in high demand areas, and to maintain the economic momentum in the Northern Kentucky region.
